Live Review + Gallery | Squid @ Bristol Beacon

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Squid | Martha Skye Murphy

Beacon Hall, Bristol Beacon

5th March 2025

Photography by Anna Hatfield (@anna.h_photos)

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Squid return home to Bristol for a set in the gorgeous Beacon Hall, spanning from ‘Bright Green Field’ to ‘Cowards’

Squid are a fascinating band. Following the playful post-punk of their debut ‘Bright Green Field,’ they have grown progressively darker, proggier and more experimental with 2023’s ‘O Monolith’ and this year’s ‘Cowards,’ described by the band as “an album about evil”.

After two headline shows at SWX in 2023, Squid made their return to their hometown on Wednesday, this time tackling the beautiful but incredibly daunting Beacon Hall. With its balconies, heaven-high ceilings and incredible light and sound, it is a privilege to play the newly refurbished venue, but surely an intimidating task.

Opening for Squid was friend and collaborator Martha Skye Murphy, accompanied by a keyboard, effect pedals and occasionally the odd Squid member on trumpet and guitar. Replacing her chat in between songs with a text-to-voice app on her phone held up to the microphone, Murphy detached herself from the crowd, performing her experimental, complex, but beautiful set to a hushed audience. Performing tracks from her debut album ‘Um’ as well as new material, Murphy‘s set was fascinating, sometimes completely raw, and sometimes warped by loop pedals and other effects.

Having seen Squid several times after both of their previous album releases, I was looking forward to seeing some new tracks. However, I could not have guessed that they would have somehow become even tighter. As Squid made their way through their set, tracks flowed into electronic interludes into new tracks, and every one was given new flair on the stage.

Opening with ‘Crispy Skin,’ it was immediately clear that these new tracks from ‘Cowards‘ would hit much harder live. Every guitar stab was more jagged, every build up more dramatic and Ollie Judge’s vocals even more unsettling. Other highlights from the new album included ‘Building 650,’ whose lyrics “we are friends” were sprawled across a huge banner covering the back wall, and ‘Showtime,’ whose layers of wailing guitars, synth effects and complex structure were unbelievably satisfying to see unfold live.

We were treated to a few older tracks from ‘O Monolith,’ including ‘Undergrowth’ and ‘The Blades‘. Despite pulling from all three albums to form their setlist, the night flowed beautifully, with Squid in control of every change in tempo, mood or atmosphere. Hearing the opening lines from ‘G.S.K.’ brought us right back to 2021 and, though I would never complain about more classics, the band absolutely did their older material justice, with just as much energy as the year of its release. The addition of violin only added to the chaos.

For the encore, the band began with an electronic interlude, the sound slowly building and building, as Martha Skye Murphy nonchalantly stepped back on stage. At once, everyone knew what this meant. ‘Narrator,’ the standout from ‘Bright Green Field,’ has long been a fan favourite, and for good reason.

The performance was complete with every classic Squid signature (squignature?) you could imagine: yelpy vocals, satisfying build-ups and a true explosion of sound at its climax. The crowd knew every word and inflection by heart and, though fans still haven’t learnt not to open up the pit too early on, their energy was insane. With Martha Skye Murphy’s screams, even more haunting live, the chaos was complete, as the song reached its peak.

As Squid began to play ‘Well Met (Fingers Through The Fence)’ you’d be forgiven for thinking it was a mistake for not ending the night on a high. But you would be wrong. The closer to ‘Cowards‘ truly is a perfect way to end a set, and became an entirely different beast in the Beacon Hall. At 8 minutes long, the build-up is hypnotic and patient, with layers of effects drifting through one another.

But it is the second half that solidified it as one of the most special moments. Every few seconds, the band would fire a devastating blow of bass to the crowd, shaking every one of our chests and forcing those who were moshing seconds before to face the stage in awe, soaking in the rumble. Listening to the track on the record does not do justice to how heavy it really is and proves how important it is to see Squid in a room with massive, massive sound.

Still equally as exciting, and the tightest they’ve ever been, Squid continue to be one of the best live bands in the UK.

Check out the gallery below:

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Photography by Anna Hatfield (@anna.h_photos)

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